The Nine Lives Of Travis Keating

Narrator

Cory Doran

Synopsis

After his mother's death, Travis Keating and his father move to Ratchet, Newfoundland, to start a new life. Some life. Travis soon discovers that only a few oddballs show any interest in him: Hector, a strange kid whose ears stick out; and Prinny, a girl as scraggly as her skinny ponytail. Nobody you can really call a friend. And Hud, the toughest, nastiest bully in school, who hates "townies" and promises to make Travis's life an utter misery. But Travis doesn't care. He's got his "funeral face," a tight mask that gives away nothing and allows him to hide his feelings.

Travis decides to visit the dangerous Gulley Cove, with its treacherous wharf and its tumbledown fish shacks, which some of the kids say are haunted. Instead of ghosts, Travis discovers a colony of feral cats, sickly and starving. Putting aside his own problems to care for them is about to bring Travis more satisfaction-and more danger-than he ever would have thought possible.

The Nine Lives of Travis Keating is a moving story about coping with grief. But more than that, it's about belonging, learning to be a friend, and finding bravery in the most unexpected of places.

Reviews

"Travis is likeable and sympathetic…a boy of imagination, courage, and empathy. This is a solid piece of contemporary fiction with an interesting story."
-- School Library Journal